Judges need meaningful oversight – The Denver Post

In Colorado, the judicial branch of government is supposed to remain insulated from politics and act as a check on the other branches of government.

But who checks on the judiciary?

The answer, of course, is you. Journalists can act as a check on the power of the judiciary by exposing wrongdoing, but ultimately, Colorado voters are the ones who must fix what ails the judicial system.

This legislative session, in response to investigations from The Denver Post, lawmakers passed a bill that would create and fund a new office aimed at investigating complaints about judges. It is a good first step. However, ultimately, Colorado voters will have to amend the state Constitution to create meaningful oversight of the judicial branch.

The ability to discipline judges falls entirely to the Supreme Court in a structure that is laid out in Colorado’s Constitution. What’s worse is that process is not open or transparent meaning that it’s possible – and downright likely given scandals already uncovered – that the judicial branch has a tendency to sweep wrongdoing under the rug. Lawmakers will have a hard time bringing real reform to the judiciary given that structure, and while taking constitutional changes to the voters is an arduous process (it requires supermajority approval), we think it’ll be worth the time and effort.

Senate Bill 201, which Gov. Jared Polis signed into law this month, creates and funds an Office of Judicial Discipline which will provide some oversight of the court’s handling of complaints. However, the bill also established an interim committee of lawmakers that will work on addressing the structural flaws of the judiciary’s current discipline and complaint system.

Colorado’s judges hold immeasurable power – they decide who gets custody of our kids, have broad latitude in sentencing and other punishment, weigh the constitutional validity of our laws and can have huge sway over what information juries are able to consider.

Many judges perform their jobs honorably with utmost integrity and impartiality. Other judges have fallen far short of the standard.

We got a glimpse at just how eager the judicial branch is to sweep wrongdoing under the rug when The Denver Post uncovered an internal memo alleging wrongdoing by judges. The intent of the memo was not to address the problems, but rather, it was to assess how important it was to find a way to keep the potential whistleblower from going public with the wrongdoing. The former employee who was threatening to go public with the information was then given a $2.75 million contract with the judicial branch. She never blew her whistle.

An investigation by the Office of the State Auditor into the matter referred four former employees of the state court for criminal investigation after finding evidence of occupational fraud, illegal transactions and misuse of public funds. The Colorado Springs Gazette reported last week that the district attorney is unlikely to press charges as the statute of limitations is too close to build a case.

The judicial branch has shown it is unwilling and unable to oversee its own.

We were disturbed to learn that members of the Colorado Supreme Court were actively lobbying against legislation to add meaningful oversight to the judicial branch. Engaging in a political and legislative process in an effort to retain their own power and the veil of secrecy is only more evidence of how far astray our judges have swayed from important norms.

We are eager to see the aggressive and meaningful reforms brought forward by the committee established by this legislation.

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